Dr. Gino Strada, War-Zone Surgeon, to Speak in Davis & Sacramento

Dr. Strada has spent much of his career caring for the victims of war. While he was working in a Pakistani field hospital in 1987, he was shocked to find that most of the war victims he treated were women and children. In a recent interview, Dr. Strada stated, "When I tried to understand more, I found out that there isn't a war where 90 percent of the casualties aren't civilian. They talk about precision bombing, and then they bomb a city and you end up spending days with people that have been torn to pieces." Dr. Strada's observations are consistent with studies conducted by the United Nations Childrens Fund, which have shown that over the past decade, 90% of war casualties have been civilians.

To better care for war victims, in 1994 Dr. Strada co-founded the Italian organization, "Emergency," dedicated to providing medical and surgical treatment for civilian victims of war around the world. "Emergency" has been operating in northern Iraq since 1995, and recently set up facilities in Baghdad and Karbala. Other war-torn areas in which "Emergency" operates include Afghanistan, Sudan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and the occupied Palestinian territories. Over the past decade, "Emergency" has grown from a small group of volunteers based in Italy into an international medical relief organization. More information about "Emergency" can be found on the U.S. website at http://www.emergencyusa.org.

In addition to caring for victims in the field and helping direct "Emergency," Dr. Strada has also written a book, "Green Parrots: treating the civilian victims of war - a surgeon's diary." (A "green parrot" is a type of landmine.) Dr. Strada will discuss his book, his experiences in the field, and his perspectives on war and the health effects of war during his Sacramento area presentations.